Discouraging Foxes from Your Garden
Foxes can pose a problem for gardeners, principally through their habit of digging and damaging prize or specimen plants and through urinating and fouling in the garden. Some people also object to their barking or what sounds like screaming that can also set dogs barking in the area.
As mentioned above, although not a major issue, foxes may pose a danger to smaller domestic pets if they are left outside at night.
Protecting pets.
As mentioned earlier, foxes pose little threat to larger pets such as cats and dogs but smaller animals, including young or smaller breeds or cats and dogs, could be at risk.
The best way of safeguarding them is to keep them indoors at night or in a strong, firmly closed shed or outhouse.
Obviously if using a shed, there must not be any holes either in the sides or floor where a fox could force an entry. If ventilation is needed, then the opening needs to be protected by a wire mesh barrier. This needs to be substantial such as welded mesh since typical chicken wire is simply not up to the job.
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Discouraging foxes
For the most part, you can discourage foxes from using your garden by making it less attractive to them:
- Avoid making food easily available to them
In addition to the obvious measures such as ensuring pet food is not left out overnight: - Use bird feeders or tall bird tables when providing food for wild birds
- Avoid the use of fertilizers that contain animal products such as blood, bone or fish since they may encourage foxes to dig up your garden looking for a tasty morsel.
- Ensure discarded food is in secure bins. If you use plastic bags for rubbish, then try to put them out on the morning they will be collected rather than the night before.
- If you have a compost heap, it may be worth ensuring it is covered since they are a breeding ground for tasty insects
- Eliminate places that provide the cover foxes need:
- Avoid areas where rubbish or rubble has accumulated or which have become overgrown
- Block off access under sheds or other types of outbuildings that could provide shelter. This may be done with permanent barriers or, if ventilation is required, use strong weld mesh that is buried a foot or more in the ground as well as being securely fastened at the top.
- If you have actual evidence that a fox has taken up residence, perhaps under a shed or by making an earth in your garden, you need to take humane measures to persuade the fox to move on.
The best approach is to purchase a deterrent from a garden centre or DIY store. Use this to soak some old rags or straw and loosely block off all the holes you can find.
Check each morning to see if the barriers have been disturbed and, if so, renew them. This will avoid trapping any members of the fox family but will allow them opportunity to move on to somewhere more pleasant to live
Once it is evident that the foxes have gone, you can use more permanent means to block off access. This procedure should normally only require a couple of days or so. - Use of barriers
It may be appropriate in some circumstances to keep foxes out of defined areas by the use of barriers. This is similar in principle to using barriers that prevent dogs from escaping and running wild.
It may be possible to construct a hedge from prickly plants, which will discourage foxes from penetrating. If you decide to fence off the area it needs to be reasonably sturdy and six feet or more high. Depending on what you are trying to protect and just how attractive it is to foxes you may also need to bury part of the fence a foot or so below ground level. - Removing foxes
You may be tempted to try culling foxes or perhaps trapping and then removing them to a remote location. Apart from the questionable legality of such practices they are unlikely to be successful for more than a very short time.
It normally doesn't take long for foxes from the surrounding area to realise there is a vacant lot and to move in so as to enjoy the benefits.
Note it is important to only use those substances that are recommended for foxes. Non-approved substances should be avoided because of possible risk to other animals, pets or children. In fact, use of non-approved substances such as creosote, diesel oil or other poisonous substances is illegal.
Attracting foxes
As a final word, many people are willing to put up with the problems caused by foxes in exchange for the pleasure they find from observing them in the garden.
If you wish to attract foxes, you simply need to do the opposite of what is recommended to discourage them, which primarily is to provide desirable food and a place of shelter.
A word of caution however is to realise they are wild animals and it is not wise to try and tame them since doing so might encourage them to be too trusting of people and lose their natural instinct for self preservation.